Team Stats

Shots (on goal)

Saves

Fouls

Corner Kicks

Offsides

COOKEVILLE, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Tech soccer team came up short
in its comeback attempt against the Blue Raiders of Middle
Tennessee Friday afternoon, falling in a roller coaster of a match
3-2.

Middle Tennessee started things early, scoring twice in the
first fifteen minutes with a barrage of five shots-on-goal, eight
total shots, and six corner kicks.

The Tech offense came to life following the second Blue Raider
goal, controlling the ball better and forcing MTSU to play more
towards its own net. Junior forward Ellie Iaciofano headed in
her fourth goal of the season off of a pass from fellow junior Taylor Hicks to cut the
lead in half. The goal, which came in the 34th minute was
Iaciofano's fourth of the season and helped shift a large portion
of momentum back to the Golden Eagle sidelines.

Just six minutes into the second half, Iaciofano struck again,
making a nifty move following a Chelsea Ladd assist and landed
the ball into the back of the net to tie the match at 2-2.
Iaciofano's fifth goal of the season was also her fourth in the
last three games and looked to have made up for the slow start by
the Golden Eagles.

Less than two minutes later, Middle Tennessee answered back. The
Blue Raiders took a 3-2 advantage on the back of a rebound goal
that richocheted off the post following an incredible diving save
by freshman goalkeeper Jordan Brown. The
Blue Raiders would hold off the Golden Eagle attack for the rest of
the match to earn their fourth victory of the season.

"The whole game came down to that first 15 minutes where we just
couldn't figure it out," said head coach Daniel Brizard.
"That first 15 hurt us. We did fantastic to come back and score two
goals, but you can't give up two goals like that in the first 15
minutes, especially against a team like that."

With the team traveling to North Carolina to face Western
Carolina on Sunday in a 1 p.m. CT match-up, Brizard knows that it
will take a quick improvement to garner better results and will
look for the team to play more like the team he knows they can
be.

"I'm looking to see the team we had 15 minutes into the game
today," said Brizard. "That's the team we've been trying to get all
year, but it's like doing a kitchen remodel. You can make your
kitchen as nice as possible, but if you still have a leaky sink
it's not going to be any good. That first 15 minutes is our leaky
sink and we need to correct that going into Western Carolina."

"I believe in this team. It's a good team. Last year we wouldn't
have scored those two goals. We would have folded after that first
15 minutes. We showed some character to come back and I think
against Western we have to show that character for the full 90
minutes and get the job done. We're going to have another good
battle and hopefully we can get it done."

The defense played another solid match following the first two
goals, allowing just 11 shots-on-goal despite 24 shot attempts by
the Blue Raiders. Despite missing senior defender and back line
leader Leigh
Heffner, the Golden Eagles cleaned up the mess quicker,
allowing just eight shots in the second half. Brown gathered up
eight saves in the contest, including several acrobatic, diving
stops.

Iaciofano, who recorded her first multi-goal game of her career
in last Friday's match against Northern Kentucky, again made her
presence felt, notching her second two-score game of the season.
Her five goals and 11 points leads the Golden Eagles in both
categories and puts her among the OVC leaders as well.